Comfort food is nostalgia, memories that reminds us of home cooked meals served at our parents house, snacks we used to eat as children, food that we used to hate but seem to long for now. Hot Dog and Rice is food nostalgia for me. In the Philippines and some parts of Asia, almost anything is eaten with rice and hot dogs are no exception. As a child we don’t eat hot dogs for lunch , we eat it for breakfast or snack. It is always served with white rice…read more

Because it’s Halloween eve, it’s just fitting to create a bento with this theme in mind. I ran out of decofuri seasoning to color my rice green, so I used mashed peas instead. I boiled about a quarter cup of peas until really soft and mashed it real well. I then added this to about 1/2 cup of cooked white rice (make sure its warmed up a bit) and mixed it until well combined. I shaped the face of frankenstein using a plastic wrap. Then cut up some nori to…read more

Tuna Mayo Don is just Tuna Mayo on rice. Don is short for donburi which means bowl. Donburi are rice meals served in bowls which may have toppings like beef, chicken, pork etc. I just learned of this dish after watching Midnight Diner (Shinya Shokudo Season 2) a Japanese drama series now serialized on Netflix. If you love tuna onigriri then you will love tuna mayo don. It does not really require cooking except for making your rice. Drain a small can of tuna (I like to use this Korean…read more

Cauliflower rice is the rage now. There seems to be more people who are consciously trying to live a healthy lifestyle and are seeking alternatives to grain and carbs in their diet. This is also perfect substitute for those who are gluten intolerant. I was skeptical at first when I heard I about this, I wasn’t really sure if it would taste great as a substitute for rice since I know that cauliflower can give an off putting smell (most cruciferous vegetables do). This was until a friend of mine…read more

You may have noticed I have recently been creating a lot recipes with purple sweet potato. It is considered a superfood because it’s not only delicious but packed with nutritional benefits as well. This recipe is very simple to make. Pre-heat your oven to 425 F. Wash and peel your sweet potato (I used 2 small ones), then cut into strips. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a bowl. Add 1-2 tbsp. olive and oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything to coat. Line a baking…read more

My girls love omurice. They usually get this everytime we go to the food court at Mitsuwa or H-Mart. This is a western style Japanese food or what you call Yoshoku. Typical omurice is ketchup fried rice wrapped in an omelet. This is not that difficult to make since I did not do a french style omelet. I wanted the soft and creamy restaurant style eggs being dished out at Tokyo Hanten in Mitsuwa. First make your fried rice by sautéing 1/4 cup minced onion in a little oil until…read more

To celebrate Fall, I decided to make sweet potato pancakes – the purple kind. For this recipe I used Okinawan purple sweet potato. You can find this at H-Mart or any big Asian grocer. This is not Ube or the Philippine Purple Yam. This has a paler and smoother skin. I prefer this purple sweet potato because it taste much sweeter. To make scrub and clean your sweet potato (I used 2 medium sized ones) under running water and dry with paper towels. Then roast it in a 400F oven…read more

This is a healthy alternative for those who love tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet). Tofu is a great substitute for meat since it’s high in protein. Make sure to use firm tofu since it has a meatier texture and will hold it’s shape when fried. First, prepare your tofu by draining and placing it over several sheets of paper towel. Then place another layer of paper towel on your tofu before placing a weight on it to remove excess liquid. I usually use a small plate with a can soup…read more

This is one of the easiest and fuss free dinner recipes out there if you are in a hurry. I got this from my dad, he used to make this for us when I was I teen. He loves to tinker in the kitchen sometimes and create unexpected goodies. I made this for dinner the other night. To make you will need 1 can mackerel in water, 1 small onion, 2 eggs, salt and pepper and some parsley or whatever herbs you have in hand is fine. First, drain your…read more

I am really thrilled to say that Filipino food has finally arrived. It is becoming more main stream here in the United States. There are several Filipino restaurants that have opened in the New York City area in recent years that caters not only to the Filipino palate. One of these is Maharlika in downtown New York. They started as a pop-up moving from one restaurant to another, which finally led them to opening a place in East Village. Reservations is highly recommended when you visit if you are a…read more